Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.8
5.2
Journals
Foods
Special Issues
Nutrition and Quality of Cocoa and Its Products
share announcement

Nutrition and Quality of Cocoa and Its Products

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2021) | Viewed by 15157

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Letricia Barbosa-Pereira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santigo de Compostela, Spain
Interests: valorization of agro-industrial wastes; food ingredients and additives; food active packaging; functional food; analytical chemistry; food authentication; food safety
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cocoa is a ubiquitous edible product, of great economic significance, and the key raw material in chocolate manufacturing. Cocoa and its related products are very popular and consumed worldwide due to their pleasant sensory properties. Moreover, recent evidence of the health-promoting effects associated with the consumption of cocoa has attracted a great deal of attention from the scientific community, consumers, and cocoa manufacturers, creating new market perspectives in the field of functional foods.

This Special Issue titled “Nutrition and Quality of Cocoa and its Products” encourages the submission of original research or reviews of scientific literature, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses, addressing recent advances in processing, quality, consumption, nutritional value, and health benefits of cocoa and its related products. Papers should focus on emerging strategies to improve the quality and nutritional value of cocoa and its related products; on the development of new cocoa-based functional foods or nutraceuticals with health benefits; on the development of new analytical approaches to fully characterize these products and to assess their quality and functional properties; and on the health-promoting benefits or adverse effects of cocoa components, especially in enriched products, through the isolation and identification of bioactive compounds and the assessment, in vitro, cell, and/or clinical trials, of their bioaccessibility, bioavailability, biological mechanisms of action, and interactions.

Dr. Letricia Barbosa-Pereira
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Cocoa
  • Cocoa products and byproducts
  • Cocoa composition and processing
  • Authenticity
  • Analytical methods
  • Functional foods
  • Nutritional value
  • Health effects
  • Flavonoids

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

25 pages, 1092 KiB  
Article
Characterization and Classification of Cocoa Bean Shells from Different Regions of Venezuela Using HPLC-PDA-MS/MS and Spectrophotometric Techniques Coupled to Chemometric Analysis
by Letricia Barbosa-Pereira, Simona Belviso, Ilario Ferrocino, Olga Rojo-Poveda and Giuseppe Zeppa
Foods 2021, 10(8), 1791; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods10081791 - 02 Aug 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2827
Abstract
The cocoa bean shell (CBS) is one of the main cocoa byproducts with a prospective to be used as a functional food ingredient due to its nutritional and sensory properties. This study aims to define the chemical fingerprint of CBSs obtained from cocoa [...] Read more.
The cocoa bean shell (CBS) is one of the main cocoa byproducts with a prospective to be used as a functional food ingredient due to its nutritional and sensory properties. This study aims to define the chemical fingerprint of CBSs obtained from cocoa beans of diverse cultivars and collected in different geographical areas of Venezuela assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to photodiodes array and mass spectrometry (HPLC-PDA-MS/MS) and spectrophotometric assays combined with multivariate analysis for classification purposes. The study provides a comprehensive fingerprint and quantitative data for 39 compounds, including methylxanthines and several polyphenols, such as flavan-3-ols, procyanidins, and N-phenylpropenoyl amino acids. Several key cocoa markers, such as theobromine, epicatechin, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, procyanidin_A pentoside_3, and N-coumaroyl-l-aspartate_2, were found suitable for the classification of CBS according to their cultivar and origin. Despite the screening methods required a previous purification of the sample, both methodologies appear to be suitable for the classification of CBS with a high correlation between datasets. Finally, preliminary findings on the identification of potential contributors for the radical scavenging activity of CBS were also accomplished to support the valorization of this byproduct as a bioactive ingredient in the production of functional foods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Quality of Cocoa and Its Products)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 1876 KiB  
Article
Antioxidative and Immunomodulatory Potential of the Endemic French Guiana Wild Cocoa “Guiana”
by Elodie Jean-Marie, Didier Bereau, Patrick Poucheret, Caroline Guzman, Frederic Boudard and Jean-Charles Robinson
Foods 2021, 10(3), 522; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods10030522 - 03 Mar 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2669
Abstract
Guiana is a little-known and endemic variety of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), native to French Guiana. No data were available regarding its chemical composition and biological properties; therefore, a study was necessary, using Forastero as a reference. To exemplify biological activities of [...] Read more.
Guiana is a little-known and endemic variety of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), native to French Guiana. No data were available regarding its chemical composition and biological properties; therefore, a study was necessary, using Forastero as a reference. To exemplify biological activities of the cacao species, cocoa extracts were evaluated by antioxidant (DPPH, FRAP, ORAC) and anti-inflammatory assays. Our results showed that raw Guiana presented equivalent DPPH and FRAP activities, but a 1.3-fold higher antioxidant activity (1097 ± 111.8 μM ET/g DM) than Forastero (838.5 ± 67.8 μM ET/g DM) in ORAC assay. Furthermore, the impact of fermentation (under four conditions: unfermented, two days, four days and six days of fermentation) on Guiana cocoa beans composition and health properties was also studied. Indeed, fermentation, a key step necessary to obtain the taste and color of chocolate, is generally known to alter bean composition and modulate its health benefits. At six days, the fermentation process led to a nearly 25% lower antioxidative capacity in various assays. Moreover, in inflammation-induced macrophage assays, Guiana and Forastero unfermented extracts induced a 112% stimulation in TNF-α production, and a 56.8% inhibition of IL-6 production. Fermentation altered the cocoa composition by diminishing bioactive compounds, which could be responsible for these biological activities. Indeed, after six days of fermentation, compounds decreased from 614.1 ± 39.3 to 332.3 ± 29 mg/100 g DM for epicatechin, from 254.1 ± 14.8 to 129.5 ± 20.7 mg/100 g DM for procyanidin B2 and from 178.4 ± 23.5 to 81.7 ± 2.9 mg/100 g DM for procyanidin C1. The similar composition and the equivalent or higher antioxidant activity of Guiana leads us to propose it as an alternative to Forastero. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Quality of Cocoa and Its Products)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 777 KiB  
Article
Physical Properties and Consumer Evaluation of Cocoa Bean Shell-Functionalized Biscuits Adapted for Diabetic Consumers by the Replacement of Sucrose with Tagatose
by Olga Rojo-Poveda, Letricia Barbosa-Pereira, David Orden, Caroline Stévigny, Giuseppe Zeppa and Marta Bertolino
Foods 2020, 9(6), 814; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods9060814 - 21 Jun 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4703
Abstract
The cocoa bean shell (CBS), a by-product of the cocoa industry, has been reported to be rich in fiber and polyphenols, which could contribute to reducing the metabolism of sugars and glucose adsorption. The production of CBS-based biscuits in which sucrose is replaced [...] Read more.
The cocoa bean shell (CBS), a by-product of the cocoa industry, has been reported to be rich in fiber and polyphenols, which could contribute to reducing the metabolism of sugars and glucose adsorption. The production of CBS-based biscuits in which sucrose is replaced with tagatose (a low-glycemic sugar with prebiotic properties), benefiting diabetic consumers, is proposed. Six prototype biscuits were produced using sucrose, tagatose, and CBS powder at 0%, 10%, and 20% as a wheat flour replacement. Biscuits were studied in terms of fiber content, and those with 10% and 20% CBS showed to contain 5.66% and 8.70–8.71% of total dietary fiber, respectively. Moreover, the physicochemical and structural properties of the biscuits were studied to evaluate their differences due to the use of sucrose and tagatose combined with CBS. Significant effects mainly caused by the reducing nature and lower solubility of tagatose with respect to sugar, and the water retention capacities of CBS were observed. Finally, the biscuits were evaluated by performing a consumer acceptance evaluation, and their perceptible sensorial differences were studied by performing a Napping® sensory characterization. CBS-based biscuits represent an interesting possibility for cocoa by-product revalorization, although an optimized recipe is recommended, especially when employing tagatose. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Quality of Cocoa and Its Products)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 451 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Bioaccessibility and Functional Properties of Phenolic Compounds from Enriched Beverages Based on Cocoa Bean Shell
by Carolina Cantele, Olga Rojo-Poveda, Marta Bertolino, Daniela Ghirardello, Vladimiro Cardenia, Letricia Barbosa-Pereira and Giuseppe Zeppa
Foods 2020, 9(6), 715; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods9060715 - 02 Jun 2020
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4102
Abstract
The cocoa bean shell (CBS), a cocoa by-product, contains a significant number of bioactive compounds with functional properties, such as polyphenols and methylxanthines, and is used as an ingredient in beverages and foods. In this work, the bioaccessibility of polyphenols and methylxanthines after [...] Read more.
The cocoa bean shell (CBS), a cocoa by-product, contains a significant number of bioactive compounds with functional properties, such as polyphenols and methylxanthines, and is used as an ingredient in beverages and foods. In this work, the bioaccessibility of polyphenols and methylxanthines after In Vitro digestion was evaluated in new flavoured beverages for at-home consumption (capsules and tea bags). In addition, the polyphenolic composition, functional properties (antiradical and α-glucosidase inhibition capacities) and consumer acceptability of these beverages were evaluated. In both capsule and tea bag beverages, the bioaccessibility of methylxanthines was 100% while that of total polyphenols exceeded 50%. The main polyphenols determined using reverse-phase liquid chromatography were type B procyanidins and epicatechin. The antiradical activity in capsule and tea bag beverages was 1.75 and 1.88 mM of Trolox equivalents, respectively, of which 59.50% and 57.09% were recovered after simulated digestion. The percentage of α-glucosidase inhibition before In Vitro digestion (51.64% and 53.82% for capsules and tea bags, respectively) was comparable to that of acarbose at 0.5 mM. All the beverages obtained a high consumer acceptability. Therefore, these results highlight that CBSs can be used as a valid source of bioactive compounds in the preparation of beverages with homemade techniques. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Quality of Cocoa and Its Products)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop